Page 35 of Last Fall

“That’s what I want to change. Despite what you and Wes both seem to think, I’m not a heat seeking sexmissile.”

Marie snorted and I smiled. The way he said it was with such vigor it was almostcomical.

“Of all the athletes I handle, you are one of the mostrespectful.”

“Damn straight. My momma raised me better than that. I like her, Marie.Her.Allofher.”

My chest constricted. My kneesbucked.

The emotion behind all his words. There was so much. These feelings he had towards me—they weren’t new. Even though I knew he liked me and everyone said he’d been waiting...it was very different to hear it formyself.

“I know,” Marie replied. “I’m the one that pushed you to see what would happen, remember? I think you two would be very good together. But you’ve got to tone down that Papa Bear attitude. You pissed me off so I can only imagine how Zoe will react if you go all Bearonher.”

I stumbled as quietly as I could manage onto a porch chair, which was a good thing because they started moving my way. I tucked my legs up under my chin and pretended to be buried in reading a book on myphone.

“Oh hey Zoe,” Marie said as she stepped up onto the deck. “It’s a beautiful night to read outside.” She ran a hand over my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m going to go find my husband and drag him hometobed.”

I glanced back at the kitchen window. “I’m pretty sure he has Jake cornered at the bar with a scotchsampler.”

She rolled her eyes to the sky. “Again? Good nightyoutwo.”

Erik stood silently, waiting for the porch door to close before he swung his dark gazetome.

I was feeling a lot of things in that moment. And those feelings were making my heart pound in mychest.

“You wanted to talk?” he asked, his voice all deep and rumbly in that manly way my characters always describedassexy.

In real life, it turned out,sexywas a weak word to use for the way my body reacted. “Walkmehome?”

He glanced out at the yard bathed in moonlight. “I’d love to make sure you get home safely.” He held out his hand and grinned. “It is Florida after all. There could be a dozen different deadly things between here and yourhouse.”

My hand slid easily inside his and I allowed him to pull me to my feet. I wanted to see what he did, how much distance he kept between us, where his eyes lingered. I needed as much data as I could collect on ErikCassidy.

I caught his gaze. “There could be a wandering gator who got lost behind thefence.”

He let go of my hand but offered his arm. I surprised myself by taking it as if it were the most natural thing in the world to slip my hands around his bicep and rest them in the crook. I just barely kept from snuggling into his side and breathing in a sample of Erik Cassidycologne.

“Hey now,” he said. “I’ve had that happen twice in my own yard back home and at least a handful of times in my neighborhood here. Gators are sneaky sons ofbitches.”

So true. And most of the ones who sunned across the street were much smaller than I imagined when I first moved to Tampa. “Rattlesnake?”

“We will hopefully get a warning shake if there is one hiding in thebushes.”

“Black widow, brown widow, brownrecluse...”

He pulled his elbow into his side, giving my hand a body squeeze. “Just scream if you feel anyspiderwebs.”

“Moccasins.”

“You’re on your own if we find one of those,” he chuckled. “Those fuckersscareme.”

“They’re like zombies. They never die no matter how many times you try.” I watched a neighbor four houses down shoot one, then go at it with a shovel and an ax trying to get its head off for thirty minutes. Now granted, it was the largest water moccasin I’d ever seen in my life, but still...he shot itandhad to hack the head off with an ax. All while it was still writhing on the ground dead.Ew.I had nightmares about that formonths.

“Don’t forget the wasp nests,” he cautioned as I reached for the gate. They notoriously loved to build nests on the underside offences.

“We keep an eye out for nests. Can’t have little girls crying over waspstings.”

“Good,” he whispered as he letmego.